5 Fascinating Facts We Learned on FitFeed This Week

Week: 5/10/13 to 5/17/13

Last week on IDEA FitFeed fitness professionals shared a multitude of informational health and fitness articles from around the world. Headlines ranged from 10 Grossest Ingredients You Didn’t Know Were in Your Food to Joyous Health. The top trending articles came from a variety of sources including BBC News, The New York Times, Houston Chronicle, The Huffington Post, The Guardian and many other news outlets. Catch up with the top five facts we learned from IDEA FitFeed last week.

1. Obesity Increases Risk of Developing Dementia

This article from BBC News highlights the many ways in which the obesity epidemic impacts our health. We already know that extra weight heightens the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, but recent research shows that it may also negatively affect the brain. “Evidence shows that obesity increases the risk of developing dementia. This study highlights the impact obesity will have on the numbers of people with the condition in the future,” explains Alzheimer's Society research officer, Jessica Smith in the article. View the full article here.

2. You Can Get a Full-Body Workout in Just 7 Minutes

People can now fulfill the latest mandates for high-intensity effort in just 7 minutes, with 12 exercises, a chair and a wall, according to research that appeared in the May-June issue of the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health and Fitness Journal. The workout is based on scientific evidence and requires very high intensity effort that registers at about an 8 on a 1-10 discomfort scale. The 12 exercises alternate between the upper and lower body and work all major muscle groups to give participants a full-body workout. View the full article and workout here.

3. Owning a Pet Can Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

Letting a pet into your heart can have a positive impact on your health, according to a scientific statement issued by the American Heart Association and reported by Anahad O’Connor in The New York Times Well blog. New data suggests that pet owners—specifically dog owners—have a lower risk of developing heart disease. “There are plausible psychological, sociological and physiological reasons to believe that pet ownership might actually have a causal role in decreasing cardiovascular risk,” says Baylor College of Medicine professor Dr. Glenn N. Levine, MD, in the article. This could be due to the fact that it gives them a reason to be active and because the presence of a pet can lower stress levels and heart rate, says Levine. View the full article here.

According to research reported by ABC News, the average meal ordered at a sit down restaurant contains 1,128 calories, or 56% of the Food and Drug Administration’s recommended daily calorie intake. This was surprising because the average fast food meal contained just 881 calories. The bad news did not end there. “On average, [the meals] contained 151% of recommended daily salt intake, 89% of daily fat and 60% of daily cholesterol," said University of Toronto doctoral candidate Mary Scourboutakos one of the study authors. View the full article here.

5. Job Security Looks Good for Registered Dietitians

Thanks to an increased emphasis on disease prevention in a growing and aging population, and a newly found public interest in nutrition, registered dietitians are in demand. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and as reported by The Houston Chronicle, RD employment is expected to increase 20% by 2020. Opportunities for nutrition pros includes jobs in nursing homes, hospitals, universities food services, and also in grant writing and research. View the full article here.

Photography: U.S. Department of Agriculture

To see more trending health and fitness headlines, check out IDEA FitFeed.

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About the Author

Jessica is an Editorial Assistant at IDEA Health and Fitness Association. She graduated from Colorado State University with a BA in journalism and a BS in health and exercise science. She has a GFI ...